from www.sonomastatestar.com – On Wed., Sept. 15 the porn industry’s hardest (working) man, Ron Jeremy and former stripper Harmony Dust will participate in a heated debate over the many controversial concerns plaguing the porn industry.
Jeremy, for those who have never heard of him, is one of the most well known pornography stars in American history. Jeremy has performed in more than 2,000 films and directed over 300 others. He was even put in the Guinness Book of World Records for “Most Appearances in Adult Films.”
Jeremy has appeared in a variety of mainstream media ranging from “The Surreal Life,” to a Sublime music video and the “Celebrity Deathmatch” video game. Jeremy, who has great insight and is well educated about the trade, began his mission to defend the porn industry in the “Porn Debate Tour” in 2006.
Harmony Dust began her career as a stripper at the age of 17 in order to support herself and her abusive boyfriend. She planned to leave after only a year but was unable to escape in fear that without any money, her boyfriend would leave.
After stripping for three years she says, “I felt reduced to an object.”
Eventually she gained control of her life and completely retired from stripping. Dust began “Treasures”, a support group for women who have previously or are still involved in the sex industry. Their mission is to “empower women in the discovery of their value and purpose by providing mentorship, spiritual encouragement and resources.”
Porn pastor, Craig Gross who is the founder of XXXchurch.com, will accompany Dust in the head to head dispute. XXXchurch.com is an anti-pornography Christian web site that seeks to help individuals who struggle with addictions to pornography.
On the web site, one can write to Gross about their life crushing compulsion and in turn he offers a support system and spiritual solutions to overcome the addiction.
Gross who lives with his family in Las Vegas, travels to churches, colleges and other events across the country to spread his message against pornography. Craig has also been featured on “Good Morning America,” Newsweek, CNN, LA Times, Nightline and The New York Times.
The pornography industry is a multibillion dollar a year industry that is often kept secret and rarely discussed. This opportunity will allow for the taboo matters of porn to be openly discussed in a powerful and moving yet tasteful manner. This debate will compare the degradation of women in porn to an empowerment of women as well as the disparaging addiction versus the fun exciting fantasy world of porn.
Gross says the debate will include a discussion of the realism in porn.
“I’m here to tell you that pornography is fantasy, and what you’re going to see in these videos or on the Internet is not reality. Porn and real sex actually doesn’t look anything alike.”
The argument that pornography is becoming more and more accessible to children is a hot topic in this debate. Jeremy comments that the hotels have locked devices and the porn industry makes enough money of its own and does not need children. While Gross rebuttals by saying, “the average age a child sees porn is 10 because of online advertising and pop-ups.”
The dialogue between Jeremy and Gross over porn in the lives of children goes into greater depth discussing the implications that can occur from children viewing pornography and both agreeing that internet filters to protect children are necessary. Jeremy, Dust and Gross are sure to leave no stone unturned when delving into pornography industry issues in this hard hitting debate.
“The Great Porn Debate” will take place in the Cooperage at 7:30 p.m. The cost for Sonoma State University students is $5 and $15 for general admission.